New Coyote Rifle On The Way!!! Ammo Advice?

[Hammsolo]

Hey All, After long deliberation I have a Bergara Squared Crest in 22-250 1:9 in the mail! After a lot of research this was the best rifle/caliber combination for my budget and use. I have also ordered a Leupold M4 2.5 to 10. This will be primarily my coyote rifle. With effective calling, most of my shots range from 25 yards (the reason for the 2.5) to 300 yards. My goal is to call them in. The real fun is fooling those wiley coyotes.

I am a re-beginning reloader. I load for my 6.5 cm and 300 wm. Generally, I buy factory ammo for the benefit of shooting and break in of the new rifle. Then I reload from there on out. I also like that this fire forms the brass. I have Varget powder for my 6.5, as it is tack driver with Hammers and this go go juice. Hammers are awfully expensive for the amount of target shooting and yote hunting I do. I also like popping prairie dogs, but mostly use my 17 for that. I have primarily reloaded Nosler and Barnes in the past.

My goals are completely reasonable. A 300 yard laser beam for a moderate price. What would should I do and how should I do it? Buy some factory and enjoy? Then reload? Just buy components and reload? I want to buy bulk bullets eventually, but hate dropping a couple hundred bucks not knowing if a particular bullet is the magic.

I’ll continue this thread with pics and updates!

 

[coleslaw]

Following. I have a barrel in 22-250ai on the way for my next build. Also a 1-9 twist. Hoping I can still sling the lighter bullets for prairie dogs.

 

[Hammsolo]

Following. I have a barrel in 22-250ai on the way for my next build. Also a 1-9 twist. Hoping I can still sling the lighter bullets for prairie dogs.

What’s your prescription? I hope to shoot this enough to rebarrel someday.

 

[Dubz337]

RS really pushes those TMKs and ELDMs. In this specific scenario you’re describing, I think those might actually be the best choice for once.

 

[Hammsolo]

Another question… It comes with a 20 moa picatinny rail. I still need to order rings. I really want to see it first. Think I can go short rings with the rail? The scope is a 42 mm objective. What would you do?

 

[coleslaw]

What’s your prescription? I hope to shoot this enough to rebarrel someday.

Doing a 5R heavy varmint barrel from Preferred Barrel Blanks. I bought a brand new Rem 700 in 6.5 CM that I found on sale for $399 at a local store specifically so I could strip it down to the bare action for this project. Once the barrel comes in I'm sending it to Kampfeld Custom to have it trued and cerakoted before I drop it into an MDT chassis. It's going to be heavy but that's the plan; I want something for all day prone shooting. Really excited to take it to MT for p-dogs if I can get it done in time this year.

 

[Hammsolo]

RS really pushes those TMKs and ELDMs. In this specific scenario you’re describing, I think those might actually be the best choice for once.

I’ve never reloaded Sierra bullets. The old guy that taught me reloading in Anacompton demonstrated their quality control by weighing a bunch from the same box. They were up to 3 grains off in either direction. Has their quality control improve? Dinosaurs ruled the land back then.

 

[Fire_9]

Low rings with the rail should be fine. V-max, TMK, eldm, and the eldvt would probably all be good coyote medicine. I only have first hand experience with the the 55 grain vmax on coyotes though. They work well.

 

[Hammsolo]

Doing a 5R heavy varmint barrel from Preferred Barrel Blanks. I bought a brand new Rem 700 in 6.5 CM that I found on sale for $399 at a local store specifically so I could strip it down to the bare action for this project. Once the barrel comes in I'm sending it to Kampfeld Custom to have it trued and cerakoted before I drop it into an MDT chassis. It's going to be heavy but that's the plan; I want something for all day prone shooting. Really excited to take it to MT for p-dogs if I can get it done in time this year.

Get it done! I hope to get back out there next month. I was out in Southwest Montana popping them for ranchers a few weeks ago. So fun. Saw a pile of burrowing owls too. So cool. It’s funny that they’re called burrowing owls when they don’t truly burrow. They use the dog tunnels. They started hanging with me for a free lunch. Awesome!

 

[Hammsolo]

Low rings with the rail should be fine. V-max, TMK, eldm, and the eldvt would probably all be good coyote medicine. I only have first hand experience with the the 55 grain vmax on coyotes though. They work well.

Factory or reload? Recipe?

 

[44hunter45]

I've always wanted a 22-250.

The good news is that 55 grain .224 bullets are cheap in the scheme of things. Relatively small case for the great velocity you get.
Tri-state Moscow almost always has W748 in stock. H335, H322, etc would all work.

Essentially it will be happy with all the "tactical" burn rate powders you are using in the CM.

Pretty easy to get a "minute of coyote" load with that rig.

With the higher taper on the case, you will need to keep an eye on case stretch.

For barrel break-in, its hard to beat a bulk buy of Factory Seconds from Midway. I'm always amazed how good they shoot most of the time.

 

[rjthehunter]

Another question… It comes with a 20 moa picatinny rail. I still need to order rings. I really want to see it first. Think I can go short rings with the rail? The scope is a 42 mm objective. What would you do?

With a 20 MOA rail, you should be good with short rings. If you can be patient, wait till you get the rifle, then go in to a sporting goods store or gun shop and bring the scope and rifle with and pick out the rings that keep your scope as low as possible!

If you can't be patient, I can't blame you. I'd at least have a set of rings ready to throw on as soon as I got the rifle. Worst case scenario is you return them and get a different size!

 

[MThuntr]

Low rings...probably could go extra low depending on brand of rings.

I've killed with 55gr V-max reloads...no longer have that rifle or the data but I think it was a stout load of Varget. I seem to remember I was around 3600 with a big barreled Rem700. There might be some new powders that would send them faster now but Varget is still the gold standard for temp stability and consistency. At 300 yards, you'll probably be able to point and click on a coyote with that load.

I'm not sure if you plan on keeping pelts but a V-Max may make a mess of one vs a tougher bullet.

 

[Fire_9]

Factory or reload? Recipe?

Loaded for a 22-250 a long time ago and can't remember the recipe. It was a 1-12 or 14 and we ran 40 grain Nosler ballistic tips through it if I remember correctly. Don't over think it.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I'm not sure the 1-9 twist will be enough for the new 62 grain ELD-vt bullets even at 22-250 velocities. If it is, that would be my first choice for a lazerbeam dog shooter. [Edit: @Hammsolo - if you load the ELD-VT don't try to set them to SAAMI COAL, the nose is much longer than most so they can be loaded longer]

73 ELDm might be marginal with a 9 twist too but 22-250 velocities might change that. If neither of those shoot well, i'd try 69 grain Sierra TMKs.

Sierra makes good bullets, better quality control than hornady generally. I could see some old soft points having more variance maybe but they are a solid choice.

For lighter bullets, the 55gr sierra blitzking shoots tight in everything i've tried them in.

 

[Dubz337]

I’ve never reloaded Sierra bullets. The old guy that taught me reloading in Anacompton demonstrated their quality control by weighing a bunch from the same box. They were up to 3 grains off in either direction. Has their quality control improve? Dinosaurs ruled the land back then.

I've never used the TMKs cause A) I'm in Canada and B) I refuse to drink the RS Kool-Aid on principle. ELDMs I have used as a target round and they are quality.

 

[Hammsolo]

I've never used the TMKs cause A) I'm in Canada and B) I refuse to drink the RS Kool-Aid on principle. ELDMs I have used as a target round and they are quality.

TMK’s through a 223 are solid flat-faced Bear Medicine!

 

[Hammsolo]

Low rings...probably could go extra low depending on brand of rings.

I've killed with 55gr V-max reloads...no longer have that rifle or the data but I think it was a stout load of Varget. I seem to remember I was around 3600 with a big barreled Rem700. There might be some new powders that would send them faster now but Varget is still the gold standard for temp stability and consistency. At 300 yards, you'll probably be able to point and click on a coyote with that load.

I'm not sure if you plan on keeping pelts but a V-Max may make a mess of one vs a tougher bullet.

Predator management is my priority. I’ve worked to build relationships with some ranchers. Has earned me further hunting privileges too.

 

[Dubz337]

TMK’s through a 223 are solid flat-faced Bear Medicine!

I've heard they could take down a T Rex, given the opportunity.

 

[psinclair]

I'm not sure the 1-9 twist will be enough for the new 62 grain ELD-vt bullets even at 22-250 velocities. If it is, that would be my first choice for a lazerbeam dog shooter. [Edit: @Hammsolo - if you load the ELD-VT don't try to set them to SAAMI COAL, the nose is much longer than most so they can be loaded longer]

73 ELDm might be marginal with a 9 twist too but 22-250 velocities might change that. If neither of those shoot well, i'd try 69 grain Sierra TMKs.

Sierra makes good bullets, better quality control than hornady generally. I could see some old soft points having more variance maybe but they are a solid choice.

For lighter bullets, the 55gr sierra blitzking shoots tight in everything i've tried them in.

1-9" will easily stabilize 62's. I have a 1-9" on one of my 22 CM's with a 17" barrel that shoots 75 ELDM's into tiny groups at 3250fps.